Arendal Municipality

Arendal () is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the notable villages in Arendal include Rykene, Eydehavn, Færvik, Strengereid, Kongshavn, Kilsund, Brattekleiv, Torsbudalen, Longum, Saltrød, Staubø, Vrengen, and Kolbjørnsvik. The offices of UNEP/GRID-Arendal are also located in the city of Arendal.

The municipality is the 273rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Arendal is the 24th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 45,891. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Municipal history

The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the town to the neighboring municipality of Østre Moland and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Øyestad.

On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality of Barbu (population: 6,787) was merged into the town of Arendal. In 1944, a small area of Moland with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal as well. On 1 January 1992, the town was vastly expanded. The neighboring rural municipalities of Hisøy (pop: 4,026), Moland (pop: 8,148), Tromøy (pop: 4,711), and Øyestad (pop: 8,679) were all merged with the town of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.

Origin of the name

The Old Norse form of the name was probably . The first element is the genitive case of which means "eagle". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale", thus meaning the "valley of the eagle".

A link for the name also has been theorized to the Vasconic substrate hypothesis, for similarity to placenames like Val d'Aran and Arundel.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 November 1924 (based upon an older seal). The blazon is ''"Per fess, Azure with a three-masted ship argent over barry wavy of seven argent and azure"''. This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an 18th-century, three-masted sailing ship above seven, thin, wavy stripes. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms usually have a gold mural crown above the shield. The design was chosen as a symbol for the importance of fisheries and sailing to the local economy. A ship appeared on the oldest known seal of the town, dating back to the 17th century. In the late 19th and early 20th century the arms showed the ship in the upper part and a landscape with the coat of arms of Norway in the base of the shield. The arms were designed by Miss C. Aubert who based it off a draft by Fred Barth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes () within the municipality of Arendal. It is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History

The village of Arendal was established in the middle of the 16th century, and was then called ''Arendall''. Initially, it had no formal town status.

When the town of Christianssand was founded by King Christian IV in 1641, he granted the citizens a monopoly on all trade in Nedenæs and Lister og Mandal counties (including the area of Arendal). This grant, intended to subsidize Christianssand and its fortifications, placed existing towns in a difficult position. Both towns and the peasants in the rural countryside protested the hardships this caused. As a result, Arendal received royal permission in 1622 to continue as a loading-place for timber until a means could be found to transfer its trade to Christianssand.

The town of Arendal was given market city privileges in 1723. However the peasants in the surrounding district, who by law were to sell their goods only at Arendal, were smuggling their goods out on cutters and selling them in Denmark, in the Baltic, and in Great Britain.

This continued until 1735, when Arendal was granted a full town charter. This charter, combined with Danish imposition of a monopoly on grain imports, caused great poverty and starvation among the peasants in the surrounding districts, leading to several famous rebellions.

As a result of the rebellions, the age of privileges for towns like Christianssand and Arendal came to an apparent end in 1768 by royal proclamation. But the problems did not end then; a farmer, Christian Jensen Lofthuus, in nearby Vestre Moland led a rebellion in 1786 which resulted in the government actually remedying some of the most repressive trade policies, but Lofthus died in prison. The charges against Lofthus were that he dealt in grain and other commodities to the detriment to Arendal's privileges.

Shipping, shipbuilding, and timber trade as well as mining and ironworks were important branches of industry in Nedenæs county for many centuries, especially in the Arendal region. Frequent contacts with the world abroad put their mark on the local culture and traditions. In 1880, it was the country's biggest port in terms of tonnage handled. At the end of the 19th century, Arendal was recognized as a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. However, this came to an end following the 1886 Arendal crash, in which Axel Nicolai Herlofson had defrauded many bank customers in the city, leading to bankruptcies and extreme unemployment. At one point in the middle of the 18th century, Arendal was one of Norway's biggest mining towns. The main production consisted of iron ore and magnetite.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, when thousands of Norwegians sought to take advantage of the more stable economic climate of the United States by emigrating, many of those from Arendal took their economic traditions with them. In New York City and the surrounding areas, a great deal of Americans who claim Norwegian ancestry can trace their roots to Arendal, as a great deal of Norwegian sailors, trimmers, shipbuilders, and carpenters from Arendal settled in areas of New York such as Brooklyn, Port Richmond (Staten Island), and several industrial centers in northern New Jersey such as Jersey City, Bayonne, Perth Amboy, and Elizabeth. In 1939, Arendal had the 4th largest Norwegian tanker fleet; only Oslo, Bergen, and Stavanger were larger.

During the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, Arendal was captured by the German torpedo boat ''Greif''.

Today, the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry, as well as one of the world's largest silicon carbide refining plants.

The municipality had a prison ( Arendal Prison), however Agder Prison opened in 2020; Arendal Prison was sold the next year.

Government

Arendal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Arendal is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors () of Arendal:

* 1838–1861: Morten Smith Dedekam
* 1861–1861: Wilhelm Foss
* 1862–1862: Johannes Westergaard
* 1863–1870: Tollef Omholt
* 1871–1871: Anders D. Geelmuyden
* 1872–1878: Ole Schrøder ( H)
* 1879–1879: Peter L. Lund
* 1880–1884: Ole Schrøder ( H)
* 1885–1886: Ove S. Andersen
* 1887–1895: Thorvald Christian Christensen ( H)
* 1896–1898: Claus Bomhoff Evensen
* 1899–1901: Johan Henrik Kintzell Frøstrup ( H)
* 1902–1907: Axel Smith ( H)
* 1908–1913: Hans Schrøder
* 1914–1916: Michael Blom Bakke
* 1917–1919: Josef Hammer
* 1920–1924: Ove Andersen ( H)
* 1925–1925: Halvor Løvold ( H)
* 1926–1931: Oscar Lundegaard
* 1932–1934: Nicolai B. Herlofson
* 1935–1940: Niels Sødring Barth
* 1941–1941: Konrad M. Havig
* 1941–1942: Sigurd Saxlund ( NS)
* 1943–1944: Eystein Knutzon ( NS)
* 1945–1945: Carl Hansen ( NS)
* 1945–1945: Niels Sødring Barth
* 1946–1947: Ola Solberg ( Ap)
* 1948–1967: Jens T. Thommesen ( H)
* 1968–1971: Stian W. Erichsen ( V)
* 1972–1987: Ørnulf G. Christensen ( H)
* 1988–1991: Ivar Bollmann Pedersen ( Ap)
* 1992–1995: Einar Livolden ( Sp)
* 1996–1999: Sigurd Ledaal ( H)
* 2000–2003: Alf Eivind Ljøstad ( KrF)
* 2003–2011: Torill Rolstad Larsen ( Ap)
* 2011–2015: Einar Halvorsen ( H)
* 2015–present: Robert Cornels Nordli ( Ap)

Geography

The municipality is bordered to the southwest by Grimstad, to the northwest by Froland, to the northeast by Tvedestrand, and to the southeast by the Skaggerak. The lake Rore is located on the Grimstad border along with the river Nidelva.

Arendal is the geologic type locality of the mineral Babingtonite, which was first described from specimens discovered here in 1824.

The coastal municipality includes several populated islands such as Hisøya, Tromøya, Merdø, Flostaøya, and Tverrdalsøya as well as many unpopulated or sparsely populated islands such as Ærøya. The island of Merdø was a major export port in the 17th and 18th centuries and now has a museum, a kiosk, and several beaches. There is regular boat service from Arendal to the island every day during the summer season.

Economy

In 2018 the service sector had 82% of the jobs in the municipality. As of 2020, part of the site for Eyde Energipark, an industrial park, has been leveled: 100 '' maal'' or 100,000 sq.m. has been leveled for the first phase of construction of a battery factory (for car batteries and ship batteries), scheduled for 2023.

Attractions

Townscape

In the middle of the town centre of Arendal is an area with wooden houses dating back to the 17th century. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what is left of buildings from before the 19th century. The inner harbour of Arendal is called "Pollen", where the fish market, pubs, and restaurants are located. Trinity Church dominates the skyline of this area.

Arendal has grown from a traditional sleepy summer-town (with culture activities just in the summer) to a more "all year" city. The building of the new library and the combined city hall/concert house has greatly improved culture life.

Lighthouses

The Store Torungen Lighthouse is located on the island of Store Torungen outside Arendal. It was constructed in 1844 and electrified in 1914. It is high and contains a 2nd order lens. It is reachable by a 55-minute boat trip from the town centre. The lighthouse is still in use.

The Lille Torungen Lighthouse is situated on the small island of Lille Torungen outside Arendal. The lighthouse is high. Lille Torungen and Store Torungen were constructed as twin lighthouses, and both are located in the Arendal shipping lane.

The Sandvigodden Lighthouse is also located in Arendal.

Strømsbo gård

Strømsbo gård is a manor house on a historic farm located west of the center of Arendal. The manor dates from the 1760s. From 1804 the manor and farm were owned by members of the Herlofson family. Peter Herlofson took over the farm and gave the building its present form. In 1883, Axel Herlofsen (1845–1910) built the Strømsbo steam sawmill at the head of Strømsbubukt. Nicolai Benjamin Herlofson (1876–1945), former mayor of Arendal, was born and raised at Strømsbo.

Music festivals

* Canal Street is Arendals yearly jazz and blues festival during the summer. It has been arranged since 1996, at that time by the name of Arendal Jazz and Blues Festival. The popularity of the arrangement has been steadily increasing.
* From 2007 until 2014, the Hove Festival was located on the island of Tromøy just outside Arendal town. It was the largest festival scene in Norway the debut year, and it has an audience capacity of up to 25,000.

Transport

The European route E18 highway is a major transportation route through Arendal heading to Oslo in the northeast and Kristiansand to the southwest. Other main roads in Arendal include the Norwegian County Road 407, Norwegian County Road 408, and Norwegian County Road 410. The local railway line Arendalsbanen runs to Nelaug where it connects with the main Sørlandsbanen railway line, which runs between the cities of Oslo and Stavanger.

The ''Setesdal Bilruter'' (on behalf of public transit authority AKT) provides bus connections throughout the Arendal area, the Setesdal region including Froland, as well as to the neighboring towns of Grimstad, Lillesand and Kristiansand, and a handful of their suburbs and outlying villages. A few more destinations can be reached with other bus operators (namely Agder Buss, Nettbuss, Konkurrenten.no, and Lavprisekspressen

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